Academics · Subject Resources

Ready for algebra,
skill by skill.

Students who struggle in Algebra 1 are usually stuck on something older: fractions, negative numbers, what an equation is asking. Try one example problem for each of ten prerequisite skills and mark it solid, shaky or not yet. The checklist scores readiness, puts the foundations first in the list of what to practice and shows progress from one check to the next.

Start a checkWhat you get

Readiness checks

The worked example is made up: a seventh grader who checked herself in September and was checked again by a tutor in November, and an eighth grader nearly ready. Saved on this device only.

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What you get

Academics · Subject ResourcesFree

What you finish with
A record per readiness check: student initials, grade, date, who checked, ten prerequisite skills marked solid, shaky or not yet with an example problem for each, and notes. Works out a readiness score; lists what to practice first, starting with fractions and negative numbers; shows each student’s first and latest scores; flags foundation gaps, equations not yet solid, other skills not yet there and readiness to start.
Who it is for
Students in grades 6 to 9 heading into Algebra 1, and the parents and tutors who help them.
Format
Browser checklist with a saved record per check. Prints one check with its example problems, every check in a table or a blank check to try on paper; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
Free. No account, no sign-in and nothing to install. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Subject Resources space in Caveat Academics.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Print the blank check, problems included.
  2. Try each problem without a calculator.
  3. Mark each skill honestly.
  4. Practice the first item in the flags for two weeks.
  5. Check again and compare.

Start a check

What algebra needs

Which skills Algebra 1 leans on mostSkillUsually taughtIn algebraFractionsGrades 4 to 6Slope, fractions in equationsNegative numbersGrades 6 and 7Solving, graphing, factoringExpressions and equationsGrades 6 to 8The whole courseRatios and proportionsGrades 6 and 7Rates of change, slopeCoordinate planeGrades 5 and 6Every graphWhich skills Algebra 1 leans on mostFractionsUsually taught: Grades 4 to 6In algebra: Slope, fractions in equationsNegative numbersUsually taught: Grades 6 and 7In algebra: Solving, graphing, factoringExpressions and equationsUsually taught: Grades 6 to 8In algebra: The whole courseRatios and proportionsUsually taught: Grades 6 and 7In algebra: Rates of change, slopeCoordinate planeUsually taught: Grades 5 and 6In algebra: Every graph
Grade bands follow the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics; your state’s standards may place them a little differently.

Fractions first

The National Mathematics Advisory Panel named fluency with fractions as the most important foundation for algebra. A student who is shaky on fractions will be shaky on slope, equations with fractions and nearly every word problem.

How the score works

Each solid skill counts one point and each shaky skill half a point, out of ten. It is a guide to what to practice, not a placement test; a teacher’s placement decision uses more than ten problems.

Sources

  1. National Mathematics Advisory Panel (2008). Foundations for Success: The Final Report of the National Mathematics Advisory Panel. U.S. Department of Education.
  2. Common Core State Standards Initiative. Mathematics standards, grades 6 to 8: The Number System, Expressions and Equations, Ratios and Proportional Relationships (corestandards.org).
  3. Siegler, R. S. and others (2012). Early predictors of high school mathematics achievement. Psychological Science, 23(7).
  4. Institute of Education Sciences, What Works Clearinghouse (2019). Practice guide: Teaching strategies for improving algebra knowledge in middle and high school students.

The worked example is made up. This is a practice guide, not a placement test. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.